Horse Consignment
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Why Us?
There are many great horse people out there. Few, if any, enjoy dealing with the process of selling horses. As horse sales are increasingly moving online, the pictures, videos, write-ups, phone calls, emails, etc. will wear down your favorite trainer/introvert in a heartbeat. What we succeed at is preparing the sales materials filled with the nonsense people love to see. Pool noodles, flags, children, dogs, ATVs, balloons, bikes, tractors, goats, pigs, donkeys, demon ponies, arenas, water crossings, cattle, tarps, plastic bags, we have all of the top dollar-store junk people love. Our videos are honest and comprehensive, showing horses in a variety of settings and facing a number of challenges. We don’t sell people horses they don’t want, so we do everything we can to show people what they are getting.
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Types of Sale
There are different ways we can help you sell your horse. Private sales tend to take longer and involve more tire-kickers, but owners can also choose where their horse goes. This is what we recommend for project or unfinished horses as well.
Finished horses tend to do best selling through online auctions. Though it takes more preparation and horses must be fit for sale, we’ve found the top-dollar for a horse comes through these online sales. We have good relationships with multiple sale sites specializing in different types of horses and we’re able to prepare a top-notch ad showcasing your horse.
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Unfinished and Unfit Horses
Though we are happy to help sell a horse at any point in its training, the more finished the horse is, the more likely it is to sell. We strongly recommend training concurrent with or prior to listing a horse for sale.
It’s not uncommon for very broke horses to get a little rusty and out of shape before they are sold. We are happy to get horses tuned up and in tip-top shape for their future owner.
Rates vary for training and conditioning needs, starting at $200/mo + board. Contact us for further details on rates.
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Finished Horses
You have a horse ready to go. You post the ad. You feel like ripping your hair out and/or beating your head against a wall after the first week of stupid questions, tire-kickers, and low-ball offers. The second week is filled with people coming to look and no one ready to buy. You’re done wasting your time and are ready to torch the horse community as a whole. We get it. We’ve been there. There is help. There is hope.
Give us 1-2 weeks with your horse and we’ll get so much footage even you won’t want to watch it all! Once prepared, we’re happy to keep the horse and market it for private sale or at auction, using our network and resources to facilitate the process. We’ll handle all the calls and texts, as well as all of the showings where people fail to show up half the time. Or, if you’d prefer, we’ll hand all the material over to you and save you the cost of getting your own pool noodles.
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Commission
Commission rates vary. Online auctions take between 10-15% of the final sale price. We offer a couple different options. For horses in training, we typically charge 10% of the final sale, horses not in training, 15%. For those only wanting videos and pictures prepared then plan on selling the horse themselves, we offer a flat fee depending on what your horse is able to do and what you need video of.
In special cases, we’ll take on a horse as-is and guarantee a set amount from the final sale to go back to the owner and we keep the rest. This is a good option for those wanting to sell a horse quickly and without investing Owners would typically get less for their horse than those on commission but we cover all associated costs while the horse is with us.
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Further Information
Every horse is different. Every owner has different expectations. We don’t employ a set consignment policy as we have yet to find one that fits every case.
Owners may opt in or out of insurance on their horse while in our care as we do not assume liability in the event of illness or accident. Owners may not opt out of costs related to routine feed, board, and care.
The horse industry is difficult enough without shady sellers, and we believe in taking good care of both our buyers and sellers. This includes no sales of horses unless they are up-to-date on all care. It’s very important to us to know what we are selling so we can be clear to buyers on what they are getting, thus in most cases where we’re facilitating the sale, we will require horses to be seen by our vet, farrier, and chiropractor at least once.